By Frank Quinn (Pictured, Leinster boys Sean O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip, Rob and Dave Kearney) MICHAEL Ring, T.D., Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, was the guest of honour as Leinster Rugby today officially opened two state of the art all-weather pitches in Donnybrook. After much consultation, Leinster Rugby, with the generous support of the […]
Steve Hansen, left, at the New Zealand All Blacks 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup celebration parade in 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand Photo: Getty Former British and Irish Lions coach meets the man behind the greatest Test team of all time, to discover how the All Blacks changed how rugby union is played The last […]
Bona fide legend: All Blacks’ captain Richie McCaw Photo: GETTY IMAGES Richie McCaw: The quest for perfection – what makes the New Zealand captain the world’s greatest player Inspirational All Blacks’ World Cup-winner is the game’s imperishable totem whose remorseless sense of duty has defied the limitations of age to reinvent himself Richie McCaw was […]
The All Blacks perform the haka before Saturday’s Test against England at Twickenham. Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty Images Much is being said and written about the insidious effect of television replays on major rugby occasions. It is a topical subject but only part of a bigger, more concerning picture. Set aside, for a moment, images of […]
Nutritional supplement use is becoming an ongoing problem in the field of professional sport. Photograph: Cheryl Frazier/Corbis The Rugby Football Union is launching an academic study involving up to 1,000 teenagers in an effort to uncover the truth about the scale of doping and supplement use among young players. As the size and weight of […]
Joe Schmidt’s Ireland played safe, smart rugby in dispatching South Africa on Saturday and made a mockery of their underdog status with the bookmakers. The 29-15 scoreline was comprehensive; only once have Ireland bettered that margin of victory against a Springbok side (32-15 in November 2006). The Irish half-backs managed the game beautifully, no better […]
Unrelenting quest for perfection puts Ireland boss in league of his own – with Michael Cheika second When Joe Schmidt took over as coach of the national side, Ireland were in ninth position in the IRB world rankings. A precarious position – Ireland were out of the top eight seeded teams. Ireland would have gone […]
WASPS MAKE OVER 12,000 FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR COVENTRY SCHOOLS & RUGBY CLUBS Wasps have today announced that over 12,000 free tickets for three of the Club’s first four games at the Ricoh Arena have been made available for Coventry schools and rugby clubs. Working in partnership with Coventry Sports Foundation, Coventry Sports Network and […]
Tommy Bowe signs new three year IRFU contract to remain at Ulster The IRFU and Ulster are pleased to announce that Tommy Bowe has signed a new Irish contract with the IRFU. The deal will run until June 2018. Tommy made his competitive senior debut for Ulster against Connacht in April 2004 and has since […]
Key Conference Set to Inspire Further Rugby Growth Unique opportunity for Unions to share knowledge and practice Get Into Rugby programme has attracted 400,000 children to Rugby Two-day conference will focus on mass-participation strategiesWith Rugby participation at a global all-time high, the IRB will bring together the leading architects of the most successful mass-participation programmes […]